A Badminton player Tanya Hemanth of Karnataka clinched the women’s singles title at the Iran Fajr International Challenge badminton tournament in Tehran on Sunday.  Tanya had to put on a headscarf before collecting her gold medal. She is 19 years old and is a student of Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy,.

Tanya had the measure of defending champion and compatriot Tasnim Mir in 30 minutes. She cruised in the first game, and weathered a little resistance from the top seed in the second before registering a 21-7, 21-11 win. As per the information, the organizers asked Tanya to wear a headscarf at the medal ceremony, which was one of the event’s conventions. As per the information the organizers had made it clear that headscarves were mandatory for women medal winners although the tournament prospectus made no mention of a podium dress code.

A picture of her wearing Hijab is doing rounds on media. They reportedly forced the Indian player to wear a hijab before collecting her award. They directed players that hijabs were mandatory, despite the fact that no such requirement for the podium dress code was mentioned in the badminton tournament prospectus. A close source speaking about the issue said, “The prospectus talked about the clothing rules in the Badminton World Federation’s competition regulations, which is mostly common in tournaments around the world. While we knew that headscarves were a must when women stepped out in Tehran, there was no particular mention about their use during the tournament,” 

The report further added that male spectators were not permitted during women’s games, regardless of whether the male member was the player’s father or coach. In fact, a board with ‘no men allowed’ written was hung at the entrance. The source said, “The women’s schedule was in the morning and the men’s in the afternoon. Only female spectators were allowed to watch the women’s matches. Also, match officials were all women in women’s matches. Male parents who accompanied their daughters to this meet didn’t get to watch a single match. It was only during mixed doubles that men and women players were seen together on the court.”

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